


The Missing Sun

by tinta8negra



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Robert's Rebellion, Elia Martell Lives, Elia Martell-centric, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinta8negra/pseuds/tinta8negra
Summary: Elia's hands began to shake as she opened the queen’s letter fearing the worse.My dearest sun,If this letter has found its way to your hands two things must have had happened. Either the Targaryen dynasty has fallen and I have perished like so many women in the birthing bed. I have heard whispers about the hand’s treason and his alliance to the Baratheon boy to ensure a crown for his daughter. Our time has run out and I can only fear for the lives of you and our children... I have conjured a safe passage for you and the children to Lys... I wish for many things but above anything else, I wish with all my heart that you succeed and live on to remember me.Yours truly,Rhaella Targaryen.(...)AU - Elia escapes in the midst of King's Landing invasion
Relationships: Arthur Dayne/Elia Martell, Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, Doran Martell & Elia Martell, Doran Martell & Elia Martell & Oberyn Martell, Doran Martell/Mellario of Norvos, Elia Martell & Oberyn Martell, Elia Martell/Rhaegar Targaryen, Oberyn Martell/Ellaria Sand, Robert Baratheon/Elia Martell
Comments: 14
Kudos: 68
Collections: Southern Renaissance (Dorne Renaissance)





	1. Escape

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been in my mind for some while now, so I've finally decided to put it into words.

Elia Martell 

Elia had just received Rhaella’s letter when Hannah, a bastard girl who had been appointed by Aerys to serve her as a final insult towards his daughter in law, came rushing to her chambers with her cheeks flushed and out of breath “My princess, the king is dead...The lion’s cub has the king’s blood dripping on his blade” she said in a hurry and disappeared as if she had never been there. 

Elia felt her blood turn cold and she eyed her children warily who seemed unperturbed by the recent news. Her hands began to shake as she opened the queen’s letter fearing the worse. 

My dearest sun, 

If this letter has found its way to your hands two things must have had happened. Either the Targaryen dynasty has fallen and I have perished as so many women in the birthing bed. I have heard whispers about the hand’s treason and his alliance to the Baratheon boy to ensure a crown for his daughter. Our time has run out and I can only fear for the lives of you and our children. I am aware of the immense favour I am about to ask but you are the only family I have left and I cannot trust anyone else. As a mother and a friend, I beg you to take Viserys and my newest child under your care. I have conjured a safe passage for you and the children to Lys under the disguise of a merchant family, all my valuable belongings are already packed on the ship to ensure you a modest life for a couple of years until you find another suitable solution. You are a strong woman my sun and I know you are capable to survive against all odds as I have seen you do so before. You have to act quickly and silently if you want to live, only take what you can carry in your hands and escape through the secret tunnels that hide beneath the keep’s walls. A man is already waiting for you there to act as your guardian during the trip and ensure you a safe journey. Pronounce Valar Dohaeris once you reach the tunnels and he’ll find you. Trust him until you touch land and then you are on your own. I wish I could join you and see the children grow old but my life was sentenced since the moment I became queen. I will always love you as if you were my own flesh and blood. Please tell the children I love them and to remain kind and good in this cruel world. I wish for many things but above anything else, I wish with all my heart that you succeed and live on to remember me. 

Yours truly, 

Rhaella Targaryen. 

Elia didn’t know she was crying until the first salty drops dripped onto the paper. She had always felt a deep connection with sweet and gentle Rhaella who had been a doting mother to her, always loving and understanding despite the cruel destiny she had been cursed to endure. Both of them had genuinely enjoyed each other’s company and they had bonded over being two women burdened by the duty that came with the name of their house. Her loss made her feel like the breath was punched out of her stomach but she had to act fast so Rhaella’s gift could help them survive. 

Thankfully Aegon remained sleeping in his crib as if the life they had previously known wasn’t ending. Meanwhile, Rhaenys laid on Elia’s bed while petting Balerion who purred in contentment. She quickly dried her tears with her free hand and began to shape a course of action. First, they had to change their clothes which were easily identifiable, then she would pack her jewels and the Valyrian daggers Oberyn had gifted her through the years for protection and finally, they would escape through the tunnels that only the royal family were aware that existed. 

“At least the children are calm” Elia thought while changing into a modest emerald gown embroidered with golden vines outlining the sleeves and the bottom of the skirt. She braided her long dark hair into a simple braid and did the same with Rhaenys hair who sat still like a doll. She changed her into a blue dress with silver embroidered clouds that thankfully made her eyes look more blue than purple and began to carefully strap the daggers to her legs. She knew it was too risky because if they cut her skin even the slightest the venom in which they were covered would kill her faster than she would notice. She took the last dagger and the only one that was free of venom and slashed her left hand over her previous dress smearing it with blood and shredding it enough to still be recognisable. She briefly admired her work and then she threw it out of the window. 

She packed most of her jewels in a fake book that acted as a little safe and locked it with a key that she hid between her breasts. She then began enveloping Aegon with a blanket that her mother had embroidered herself for Rhaenys birth before she had died. “Where are we going mommy?” Rhaenys asked her with a little frown clearly catching on the frantic actions of her mother. “We are going on a secret adventure my love, so no one but ourselves can know. Exactly like the ones in the histories you always love to hear” Elia told her child with a smile. 

“Will Balerion be coming with us?” Her daughter asked innocently clutching her kitten against her chest. 

“I’m sorry my sweet but he cannot come” 

“But he’ll miss me terribly, I know it. If he doesn’t come I won’t either” Rhaenys tightened her hold of the black cat in her little arms and Elia recognised the beginning of a tantrum that she couldn’t deal with at the moment “He can come only if you take care of him. He is your responsibility so you have to make sure he doesn’t get lost” Elia finally accepted as she preferred dealing with a compliant child than an unruly one “We have to go now if we…” 

Suddenly, the door opened and a monstrous giant clad in steel stood there. Rhaenys hid under the bed in fear while Aegon started to cry. Elia knew why the man was there and she clutched the dagger that had remained on the bed smeared with her blood. 

“You should be careful princess or you could cut yourself” the mountain mocked her as he lazily approached her “I have found that the last breath of a highborn lady is always the sweetest” he said and deviated his focus from her to Aegon whose face had become red from crying. 

Elia’s instincts reacted in alarm and she plunged the dagger to the hilt on the juncture of his arm, the blade cut through flesh thanks to Oberyn teaching her where the weak spots of a man's armour were when he had begun training as their father's squire. The human monster refocused his attention on her and he began strangling her without removing the dagger “I was going to make it quick and be merciful but now you will see your children’s life bleed out from their bodies until it’s your turn”. The man’s face morphed into a demonic grin as Elia struggled for breath. The mountain smiled in her face not noticing that between her struggle to breathe, she had reached under her skirt and taken out a small dagger with which she stabbed the man in the underarm repeatedly until she felt her strength leaving her. 

Elia had stopped praying to the gods a long time ago but she prayed to her mother’s and Rhaella’s spirits to aid her. A single tear left her eye when she felt her life slipping but at that moment the man’s eyes opened in shock and his skin began to turn purple, his veins highlighted by a black hue. As suddenly as he had come into the room, he dropped like a sack of flour releasing his hold on Elia’s throat. She fell to her knees with a thud and the colour of life slowly returned to her cheeks with each breath of air. She took both daggers out of his arm, a gush of blood coming out of each puncture and she stood over the man that while unmoving remained conscious “You forgot that I am a princess… and the blood of dornish warriors flow through my veins. Unbent…Unbowed…Unbroken…” Elia looked directly into his eyes as she slit his throat and his blood began to spurt. Rage and fear clouded her mind so she took deep breaths to think. 

She cleaned herself as best as she could with the bed’s linens and covered the body with it to spare the young minds of her children. Then she called for Rhaenys with a sweet voice “Come out my love, the bad man is gone so he won’t ever harm you. I promise”. Her daughter quickly got out and embraced her “I was so scared mommy” she cried in Elia’s chest. “I know my love but you need to be brave. My father always used to say that fortune favours the brave... We have to hurry now so take Balerion and don’t let him go“. She dried her daughter’s tears and kissed her forehead tenderly. 

She crouched next to the bed to remove a fake brick from the floor and she took out an engraved wooden box. She searched through its contents and added a single letter next to Rhaella’s in the fake book filled with her valuables. 

She left the wooden box open on the bed and the dagger still covered with blood next to it. She took a quick look at the room filled with the things that represented her old life and sighed. 

Elia tore the end of the tapestry on the wall so she could fit her hand trough and she pressed the protruding stone that hid under it. The wall unlocked within thirty seconds as it was a door and Elia and the children walked into the darkness of the tunnel that enclosed itself once they entered. 

“Valar Dohaeris” her voice broke the silence and echoed through the walls until two sets of steps were heard coming closer. Elia’s heartbeat got quicker the closer the steps became and she clutched her children closer even though she knew they were safe at the moment. 

When Elia was little her father would always tell her “Be brave my little sun”. He would put his hand on her cheek and say “fortune favours the brave” Elia would do the same and respond “and the brave make their fortune”. In the end, they would join their foreheads and in those precious moments, Elia always felt safe because she was certain her father would protect her from everything. 

Now Elia had to be that safety blanket for the children and the realisation made her feel an old crone all the sudden. 

Two figures draped in capes appeared, a tall one clutching a small bundle with one hand and holding a small child with the other. The small person ran towards her as soon as he recognised her. “Elia!” Viserys shouted and awkwardly embraced her and Rhaenys at the same time. “Shhh…” the strange man silenced him “We have to move in silence little one or we’ll get caught”. He gave them similar capes that they put on quickly and they followed him as he expertly led them through the dark tunnels “Is it a boy or a girl?” Elia asked once she saw that the small bundle he was holding was a baby. The man looked her straight to the eyes “It’s a girl but no more questions until we are closer to the port. The Lannister army has entered the city so it's complete chaos. The positive side is it will be easier to blend in”. 

They kept on walking until the keep’s walls faded into a cave where the sound of the sea became stronger with each step and the smell of fish started filling their noses. Rhaenys made a small “ew” that made Elia smile despite the events that had just happened. 

“When we reach the ship you'll have to choose a new name for yourself and the children. I am your husband, Yassif Delos. We are merchants from Lys that import and export sand steeds and myroshi silk. If anyone asks, we are returning home” the man told her and under the sun Elia got a closer look. He looked a little older than her but no more than ten years, well-built and taller than most men Elia had known. His hair reached bellow his chin, the same shade of his blue indigo eyes. He had a comely face but not an extraordinary beauty like Arthur or her previous husband. As soon as they came into her mind, she rejected the thought and refocused on thinking their new names. 

“Mommy, why do we have to choose new names? I like my name as it is” Rhaenys said.

“Indeed, it’s a lovely name but there are people who will be looking for us to take all the fun out of our adventure so we have to be careful and hide” 

Rhaenys eyes opened in surprise “Like hide and seek?” 

“Yes my darling if we get caught, we lose” Elia told her as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Hmmm,” Yassif said gaining Elia’s attention “you should cover that up” he proceeded signalling her neck. She instinctively touched her neck which throbbed under her fingers and she tried to contain a grimace. Yassif handed her a black scarf that she quickly put on. The scarf while soft chaffed against her injury and caused her a lot of discomfort with each movement but Elia remained silent until they boarded the ship where apparently their belongings were already waiting for them. 

The captain only acknowledged Yassif when he paid him a small pouch filled with coins while Elia and the children were escorted to their new living arrangements for the duration of their trip. Only when the children were sleeping soundly in the safety of their new beds and the ship began sailing leaving the chaotic sounds of the invasion of King's Landing behind, Elia started laughing silently like a madwoman until the tears began to flow. 


	2. Parting gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elia is gone but the game is still moving.

Tywin Lannister 

“Well, that was unexpected” Tywin covered his nose and mouth with a golden myroshi silk handkerchief while looking at the bloody mess in the room. The metallic smell overpowered the room and the stench of death clung to every corner making him nauseous. 

When Tywin had ordered the execution of the dornish woman and her babies he thought it would get done fast and without much of a fuss. He had already sent someone to do the same with Aerys remaining children at Dragonstone but it seemed that the only thing they found was the corpse of the previous queen who apparently had died of childbirth even though there were no signs of the children. Everyone knew Tywin was ruthless but his position wasn’t secure yet so he had to keep his hands clean as much as he could or at least until his power over the crown was. He had always preferred being more feared than loved but even he had noticed how the princess was loved by the common folk and the highborn alike despite the insults of her father-in-law. She wasn’t only a princess; she was the queen in waiting to the seven kingdoms. 

A carved wooden box caught his eye, the only thing in the room that remained somehow untouched by the chaotic event. An encrusted dagger laid next to it, a silver snake turned crimson curling in its handle with amber eyes and exposed ivory fangs. The blade stained the mattress like red spilled ink and Twin started joining the pieces together. The girl hadn’t only fought a monster but somehow, she had won. This turn of events presented her in another light and her previous seemingly innocent actions resulted calculated when he thought them over. He shouldn’t have underestimated her unlike her infamous brother, the red viper who was a known wildcard. But how would he have known the viper hiding underneath the lamb’s skin. Elia Martell had always seemed soft and fragile with a gentle heart in a place where only the devious thrived. 

He looked through the contents of the box that was filled with letters and the Stark seal stood out against the white of each letter. Tywin had always prided himself in being stoic, unperturbed, and prepared but when he read the truth that hid behind each piece of paper the surprise made him smile. “What a magnificent parting gift she had left him” he thought. She had served him a solution on a silver platter but when he realised what making this gift public implied his smile faded. By using this to his advantage he would also have to confess his involvement in the princess's fate to give these letters legitimacy. She indeed was smart and had put him in a dilemma but he would have to lose a battle in order to win the war. 

The Baratheon brute already owed him his crown but he profusely refused taking Cersei’s hand in marriage because even after all the mess his sweetheart had caused, he still professed his love for the wolf pup that clearly didn’t feel the same. When he learned the truth, he wouldn’t have a reason to refuse a perfect highborn lady like his daughter as his queen. Tywin already had been ruling the realm under the table so he would easily keep on doing that during the reign of the current idiot sitting on the throne. 

“Farewell princess” Tywin thought leaving the room with the box and dagger in his hands as he made his way to the small council room, so absorbed in the movement of gears turning the course of the game that he ignored the smaller poisonous dagger hidden under the closet. 

They were already seated when he arrived. The brute, Jon Arryn and the Stark pup. His golden boy stood on the door wearing his damn white cloak and he looked on edge. When he entered all pairs of eyes focused on him and the things in his hands. 

“What news do you bring?” Arryn asked standing up. 

“The Martell princess is missing and so are all the Targaryen children” Tywin added while sitting down and putting the box and dagger on the table. 

“All the Targaryen children?” Jon Arryn continued catching on to the meaning of his words. 

“Yes, each one of the crown’s children is gone” 

“What do you mean that they are all gone!” the brute demanded with a scowl. 

“Could you be more specific lord Lannister?” the Stark boy seemed anxious but still he asked politely with his permanent frown. 

“Well yes, you see the dornish girl killed the mountain and escaped with the children. Is that clear enough for you?” 

John Arryn interrupted him “The agreement was to capture her. Unharmed and alive. Now we don’t have anything to negotiate with Dorne. Her brothers won’t accept anything less than their sister. It’s a known secret that Morelle Martell was considering splitting from the seven kingdoms before her death, that’s why Aerys offered her the dragon prince for his daughter. Prince Doran Martell offered Dorne’s alliance for three mere lives” He chastised him as if he were one of his foster sons. 

“Not some mere lives, the widow of the late Targaryen prince and the heirs to the crown” the brute said with a scowl. 

“Anyways, the princess left us some parting gifts besides a rotting corpse” Tywin said undisturbed while opening the box “it seems that Lyanna Stark went willingly or is it not your sister’s handwriting and your house’s seal, Lord Stark?” 

All the faces morphed in disbelief and anger. “These letters were found in Elia Martell’s royal chambers next to her dagger, for it cannot be anyone else’s. She must have found them in her husband’s possessions” 

“How dare you!” Baratheon roared “She would never do such a thing. It’s all lies!” 

“Then look at the truth for yourself” you damn fool was left unsaid. He moved the box towards them and Eddard Stark took the first letter. As soon as he started reading its contents his face became even paler and his frown deepened “There must be another reason” he murmured to himself even though everyone in the room heard. 

“Let me see” the brute took out another letter and when he finished reading it, he left the room in a fury. “That’s good” Tywin thought, the brute would lick his wounds in private, and then his pride would make him despise the thought of the wolf girl. Finally, his beautiful daughter’s face would come in and make him forget her completely. 

“Honourable men fought and died for the honour of a girl who threw it away willingly” Arryn seemed lost for a second but he composed himself quickly “What will we do with the girl if she is found? If the truth comes out…Who will want a king that led them to their deaths for nothing?” 

“When she is found I’ll take her back to the north” Lord Stark said “She won’t ever leave Winterfell so she won’t be a problem to anyone. I give my word to never speak of it until the day I die” his solemn face appeared blank but his eyes gave away how troubled he was. 

Tywin had to hide a smile “The truth is decided then. No one but ourselves will ever know what truly happened. As far as anyone is concerned if Lyanna Stark is found alive we will say she was kidnapped and the trauma that it caused her refrained her from marrying King Robert Baratheon. Lord Stark, I’m afraid your proposition won’t suffice, the only viable path for her is to become a silent sister to honour all the death she has brought. In regards to Elia Martell, we didn’t have any involvement in her disappearance and the events that transpired in her royal chambers never happened. We did everything in our power to save her but we were too late and she was already gone. Are we understood?” 

Stark looked like he wanted to protest the fate of his sister but in the end, reason won and he remained silent. A series of ayes followed and Tywin felt victorious. A few more pushes here and there and he would strengthen his power and eventually a Lannister would become the future king of the seven kingdoms. 

All things were falling into place during the next couple of days. Cersei was slowly making moves to gain the favour of the king who at the moment seemed uninterested in anything that wasn’t a goblet of wine. Thankfully there was no news of either the wolf girl or the dornish princess. The dornish political party was scheduled to arrive in a few weeks' time. That was until the red viper appeared out of thin air and stormed in the throne room holding a bloodied piece of fabric where the Baratheon brute sat drunk out of his mind, holding court to the lords that came to bend the knee. 

“You fucking liars! What have you done to my sweet sister?” The prince exclaimed in anger. 

Tywin felt his patience start running thin but he responded in a monotone voice “Do you care to be more specific prince Oberyn? We have already explained the uncertainty of your sister’s fate in the letter send to prince Doran” 

“Then explain what is her dress doing in the gardens all ripped and bloodied? Even an idiot wouldn’t say this is uncertain. I had heard many things of you Lannister but being an idiot wasn’t one of them!” 

Tywin didn’t show how his comment angered him but before he could respond Robert intervened in his drunken state “I’m sorry but that to me seems like a dirty piece of fabric” 

“Oh, but how brilliant! And here I was thinking the king couldn’t see past his cup of wine. It clearly is my sister’s gown or can’t you recognise the sigil of my house?” Oberyn threw the damned dress at the kings' feet and as he had pointed out there it was, the sigil of House Martell surrounded by blood and grime. 

Jon Arryn’s eyes looked nervously at him waiting for an answer or for him to say something to placate the prince’s fury. The red viper caught on it and his eyes turned into slits “Please explain how can there not be news about my sister when her belongings remain untouched but the dress she was last seen in, is found and there are still no traces of her” the court began to whisper and Tywin had to act quickly. 

“We understand your reaction prince Oberyn but we are as confused as you must be” Tywin said trying to salvage the situation “when we arrived to the Keep the princess was already gone with no signs of the children. We did everything in our power to find her but it was to no avail”. 

The red viper’s face remained blank for a second until he added “I, prince Oberyn Nymerios Martell, came to King’s Landing as Dorne’s representant. In order to collect the payment that was requested for Dorne’s recognition of the current monarch. The price was my sister and her children alive and unharmed. As a demonstration of our good faith, she would gracefully renounce her children’s claim to the throne and remain in Dorne for the rest of their lives. You must see how this changes our previous agreement. Dorne doesn’t bow unless house Martell says so and under these dire circumstances, we will have to remain silent” 

“Prince Oberyn this misunderstanding is making you unreasonable…” Jon Arryn tried to intervene but the prince cut him off “I don’t think I am, despite popular belief I’m quite a reasonable man but in this case, Dorne will not bow unless the price that was previously agreed is paid. And as it seems that you were not capable to protect princess Elia Nymerios Martell and her children we will have to act accordingly” 

The whispers in the court increased and Tywin knew it was not possible to salvage the situation and the only thing they could do was damage control “I’m sure the princess would prefer peace over more bloodshed. Her belongings will be returned to Dorne and in respect of her memory, the orphanage will be restored in her honour. Maybe a seat in the small council would help you reconsider?” 

If Oberyn Martell’s anger had dwindled the last comment brought it back increased tenfold “Memory? My sister is not dead if you are to be believed unless you know something we don’t but even if she was, the things you offer are an insult to the value of a princess life. You seem to forget that she was born and raised a princess; she didn’t become one through marriage or with a stolen crown” the prince’s serious tone was scarier than his shouting. 

The throne room was silent until the booming voice of the king was heard “Will you bend the knee?” Tywin cursed his foolishness and he wished to strangle him himself. 

Oberyn seemed surprised by his idiocy “Naturally when a contract is broken you cannot expect to receive payment freely. What else are you willing to sacrifice in order to appease Dorne’s wrath or will you foolishly try to steal Dorne away when the wound hasn’t stopped bleeding? We don’t need you as much as you need us to cement your reign” 

“Is that a threat?” 

“Not in the least, I am merely stating facts. The heat of Dorne doesn’t treat foreigners kindly, our sands would swallow you faster than the sun would make you welcome the Stranger. I came here only to retrieve what was promised but as you are not able to give us back our princess, we don’t have anything else to discuss” with his final statement Oberyn Martel left the throne room with all the flourish that he had come with, disappearing as if he had never been in the first place. Tywin really wished he hadn’t. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprisingly, I had a lot of fun writing Tywin.  
> I find it interesting how in the rest of Westeros they don't use the whole name of house Nymerios Martell but don't worry Oberyn will keep reminding them.
> 
> I hope you liked this new chapter and your comments & kudos are always welcomed.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise for any errors, English isn't my first language but I'm trying my best :)


End file.
